A Unique Thanksgiving

 As we all deal with the pandemic each in our own way, there is no doubt this will be a Thanksgiving to remember. I won't even attempt to put words to it as its effect is so individualized. I can only say for myself - "Thank goodness for my garden!" It is the one enduring constant in my life, a pleasure that also helps to keep me grounded and a reminder that Nature is Nature, even beyond our human foolishnesses.

That said, here are some recent photos from my garden. They cover the spectrum of its delights - some flowers, some foliage, some succulents, some bromeliads, some dry garden plants. Enjoy!

An updated look at my walkway bed. It is relatively dormant now, though there still are a few Agastache in bloom, plus two Monardellas, my Black lotus and two varieties of oxalis. But this bulb-filled bed has already sent up shoots for Freesia, Ipheion and Dutch iris.

My Mandevilla Apricot continues to bloom. In its third year now, the flowers are finally showing a true color.

One of my favorite Mimulus varieties, this M. Sunset offers lovely peach tones.

This may be a hard plant to ID so will say up front that it's a Strobilanthes anisophyllus.Its calling card is its dark, almost black, foliage.

Mina lobata. This flowering annual vine had a good year and as you can see, its flowers change from red to orange to yellow to white.

These are probably the last flowers on my Lepechinia bella. Such a pretty blue.

Many people are familiar with Beauty berry bushes. They are of winter interest, producing purple berries that last for months. Here's the white version - Callicarpa japonica leucocarpa.

I kept waiting for my redder-than-red Ruellia elegans to produce a bevy of flowers but alas, they've been coming out only one or two at a time.

Now well established, my Duranta repens Gold Mound is 10' high. It holds onto that lovely gold color year round.

Fall through early spring is the time for Cyclamen. Here are two varieties.

Aechmea fulgens is one of the easiest bromeliads to grow and also one of the most dependable bloomers. Here's the beginning of a flower spike, with the orange buds (bracts) eventually opening to tiny flowers. This species also features dramatic maroon-colored backsides to the leaves.

After two years of not blooming, suddenly my Luculia pinceana has produced a great many buds. Here is one cluster, about to open to pale pink flowers that are heavily perfumed.

Chamelaucium x verticordia. It's still young and growing but this cross will eventually produce small pink flowers with deeper pink centers. I like it as much for the wispy foliage.

I've had hit-and-miss success with passifloras but this one, P. Oaklandii, has been a roaring success. It now has completely smothered the top of my backyard apple tree. Which I don't mind as I don't harvest the tasteless crabby fruit.

I finally have a photo that shows the true color of this Dianthus variety's flowers. Sort of a salmon pink.

It's late but my Tweedia is producing its last clutch of robin's egg blue flowers.

Though Magnolias are of course grown for their flowers some, including this M. Butterflies, show off very colorful fall foliage right before the leaves drop.

One of the more decorative Justicias, this J. 'Fruit Salad' has bright chartreuse bracts and contrasting red flowers. It took awhile - so long I wasn't certain it would bloom - but it has been blooming nonstop since late September.

Speaking of robin's egg blue flowers, my Salvia bullulata Pale Form has scads of them this fall. Though they are possibly the smallest flowers on any salvia, they make up for it with that exquisite color.

Sometimes giving a plant a 'haircut' (cutting it back almost to the ground) can trigger the plant to start over and even rebloom in the same year. That's been true for this Echinacea Yellow Sombrero.

A large offshoot of my Aechmea fulgens snapped off so I've moved it over to the sunny crevice of this fir tree. So far so good.

To my great surprise (and delight) my newly planted Agave tricolor has already produced two offshoots. Normally Agaves are slow growers and thus slow to pup.

Though no flowers in this photo, I took it to show the clumps of Babiana leaves that are already up. One of the earliest South African bulbs to appear and then bloom, it's distinguished by its pleated leaves.

Salvia regla Huntington. This late blooming sage has especially long tubular flowers. It also features textured leaves which exude a strong woodsy scent.

Eriogonum crocatum. One of the silveriest of all the CA buckwheats, this guy has formed a neat mound along our walkway.

Winter prep

Though we're still having some warmish days, it's time to bite the bullet and admit that winter is around the corner. That means some easy winter prep for your garden. The first step is to add bark to many of your beds, to both provide a cushion of warmth during the coldest nights and to help retain moisture. Now may also be the time to do some judicious pruning. That would include certain deciduous shrubs like Hydrangeas and Viburnums. Be careful though not to prune Camellias or Rhododendrons this time of year as they are already setting flower buds for late winter blooming. Lastly, don't forget to water your plants even in the colder months, as water actually helps to insulate roots (as long as you don't over water).

One last comment - we are heading into the prime birding season so keep an eye out for new visitors such as robins, warblers, mockingbirds, woodpeckers and Cedar waxwings.

That said, here are this week's garden photos.

Banksia ericifolia. If you look closely, you can see the formation of its first flower cone.

Thunbergia gregorii. This all orange flower is different than the T. alata hybrids that have the dark center. Flowers don't get more orange than this one!

Speaking of orange, Streptosolen, better known as Marmalade bush, gets tons of orange and peach flowers much beloved by hummingbirds.

Stephania rotundifolia. The caudex on this new for 2020 plant doubled in size its first year!

Winter is the season for the 'good' oxalis. Here's a pretty shamrock type with brilliant white flowers.

My Black lotus bush (Lotus jacobeus) blooms nearly year round. From a distance, the flowers appear almost black. Up close they're more of a chocolate color.

A milkweed is a milkweed is a milkweed. At least when it comes to attracting monarch butterflies to lay their eggs on. This is an Asclepias cancellata, sometimes known as Wild Cotton milkweed.

Neoregelia Green Apple x Olens cv Vulcan. One of my favorite bromeliads.

Vriesea guttata. This arrived as just green but is gradually adding the brown spotting that I was hoping for.

Although it's a bit late, my Begonia Nonstop Orange is beginning to flower.

Sometimes for Begonias, it's all about the leaf color or shape. That's true for my B. 'Angel Glow'.

Polystichum variety fern. This evergreen fern has an arching, sprawling habit but has stayed low.

Another of the 'it's the foliage' begonias, my B. Autumn Ember is one lovely plant.

Another begonia! I'm sensing a theme here! This angelwing type is B. 'Fannie Moser.' Lovely!

Neoregelia Predatress x Touchdown. Lovely year round color on this Neo.

Here's proof just how much you can pack into a median strip!!

Good things DO come in small packages with this dwarf pomegranate. It stays small but still flowers and produces fruit.

Happy Halloween!

 California - and all of the southern states really - have such a surreal climate for those of us raised much further north. It's already snowed in my hometown and even a bit further north here in Oakland at 37.8 degrees latitude, it's still in the mid-seventies a day from November. One thing benefiting from this mild weather is our gardens. Given the warmish weather, even with much cooler nights, plants just keep on growing and/or blooming. Which, for those of us who have diverse gardens, makes for a wonderful garden stroll this time of year.

With that in mind, here are this week's photos. They give a pictorial representation of our Indian Summer. 

A hard to find Impatiens 'Jungle Gold.' Little white and gold flowers in the autumn.

Aechmea blanchetiana Orangeade. One of my favorite bromeliads.

Yerba Buena is Satureja douglasii. This species mate is S. mimuloides. It's more of a sun lover, with lovely peach-colored flowers.

Justicia Fruit Salad. The lime green parts are the bracts. The red things sprouting from those bracts are the flowers.

Still forming - slowly - my Buddha's Hand fruit is still growing and yet to turn yellow.

Echeveria gibbiflora. This species of Echeveria takes many forms. This one is red and ruffled.

Here's my latest dwarf conifer - Chamaecyparis obtusa tetragona aurea. 'Aurea' means gold and this species is meant to acquire strong gold colors.

Another of my many Chamaecyparis, this C. lawsoniana Van Pelt's Blue was I think the very first dwarf conifer I brought home, now about 8 years ago.

Adenanthos sericeus, better known as Wooly bush. Gets 6-8' tall said the label. Right. Mine is now about 15' tall. No complaints from me.

Although Lepechinia hastata is the most widely available of the Pitcher sages, this L. bella has the most exquisite blue flowers.

The bromeliad in the front center is Neoregelia Green Apple x Olens cv Vulcan. Long name for a small guy but I do love the green apple color and the red tips.

Polystichum polyblepharum. That's quite a mouthful so you can call it Japanese Lace fern. Lovely.

Asclepias cancellata.I did have a nice fat caterpillar on this milkweed but haven't seen him lately. I did accidentally capture a spider on the prowl here though.

Darwinia taxifolia. The new (or winter?) growth is emerging pink. Curious.

Leucospermum Veldfire. Though it hasn't begun blooming, I just like the form and look of it now.

I decided to try my Aechmea Pepita in the crevice of this fir tree. We'll see how it does.

Cistus McGuire's Gold. Finally a photo that shows off its golden tones.

Driveways bed. I've planted a host of dry garden plants in the front portion of our driveways bed. Succulents, aloes, yuccas, agaves and more. So far, so good.

Correa species Orange. That's how this Australian Fuchsia came labelled. It does indeed have pinkish-orange flowers and right now, lots of them!

Vigna caracalla, better known as Snail vine, is a vigorous climber with corkscrew flowers that, yes, do resemble snails. Lavender and white, they are also sweetly fragrant.

My little Helichrysum Lemon Licorice is just starting to spread.

Speaking of 'lemon' this is my Santolina 'Lemon Fizz.' It is most happy in its location.

My Azalea Court Jester is almost done blooming but here's one last photo showing the variation in the flower.

My Clematis Belle of Woking is a double form variety and you can see it opening up in this photo. btw, Woking is indeed a town in England.

Here's one of my dwarf conifer bowls. On the left is an Ilex (yes, not a conifer), center is Chamaecyparis Snow and to the right is a low growing Juniper.

Okay, it doesn't look like much now but my newly acquired Illicium floridanum (from UCBG) will grow quickly and eventually sprout unusual reddish-brown flowers. This plant is sometimes referred to as Florida Anise, given that the crushed leaves smell sweetly of anise.

This cutting from the garden of Ann Nichols, by way of Barbara Siegel, is as yet identified but I love its dark textured leaves.

Begonia Irene Nuss. On top of its large cane begonia leaves, this poular plant also produces some of the largest flowers in the genus.

A hard to find bromeliad, this x Vriecantarea 'Julietta' is coming along fine.

Though a bit dark, I like the way the light catches just the opening of a Rhododendron 'Sappho' flower.

I'm very excited that my Orostachys fimbriata is getting ready to flower. They produce towers like you see here, from which eventually sprout hundreds of tiny white flowers.

Here's my latest dwarf conifer - Abies koreana Aureum. Abies is the botanical designation for fir trees, 'koreana' must mean 'coming from Korea' and the Aureum refers to its golden foliage. Should I ever be lucky enough to have it produce fir cones, those are a vivid purple!

Lastly, though they are very small, those vivid robins egg blue flowers belong to Salvia bullulata Light Form.